Jacksboro, Tennessee: Campbell County seat — the 1926 courthouse on Main Street, Cove Lake, the Cumberland Trail and Norris Lake nearby

In 30 seconds

Why stop: see the 1926 Campbell County Courthouse on Main Street, then head a few minutes out to walk the 3-mile paved loop at Cove Lake State Park, hike the Cumberland Trail or watch for elk at Hatfield Knob.
Before you go: Jacksboro is on Eastern time (ET). Early voting ends today, Oct 29 (9 AM–4 PM ET at the Election Commission, 129 Church Alley); Election Day is Tue Nov 3, with no Jacksboro town races on the ballot. Trick-or-treat across Campbell County is Sat Oct 31, 5–9 PM ET.
Good to know: Cove Lake, the Cumberland Trail, Lonas Young Park, Norris Lake and Windrock are all outside the town limits, and so is the shopping strip on Jacksboro Pike, which is inside LaFollette. Jacksboro has no working town website; we link the state’s MTAS directory instead.

Visitor directory

Things to do in and around Jacksboro

In town

Campbell County Courthouse & Main Street ↗570 Main St. · the county seat’s Main Street sits in Powell’s Valley below Eagle Bluff, long a landmark for travelers. Today’s courthouse was built in 1926 of brick, steel, stone and concrete on the foundation of the courthouse before it, after two earlier courthouses burned. The first, of limestone, went up in 1808. County offices are open Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET and Sat 8–11:30 AM ET; call ahead, since hours can change. ⓘ source
Campbell County Chamber of Commerce ↗1016 Main St. · 423-566-0329 · the county’s chamber and visitor contact, with the Visit Campbell County guide to lake, trail and dining stops. ⓘ source

Eat & drink

We could not confirm a restaurant inside the town limits from a first-party or official listing, so these are a short drive away.

Rickard Ridge BBQ ↗Not in Jacksboro — 131 Goose Ln., Caryville, inside Cove Lake State Park · barbecue · Mon–Sat 11 AM–8 PM ET, Sun 11 AM–4 PM ET · (423) 907-8202. ⓘ source
Food City Deli & Starbucks ↗Not in Jacksboro — Woodson’s Mall, 2221 Jacksboro Pike, LaFollette · (423) 562-2753. Despite the road’s name, this stretch of Jacksboro Pike is inside the LaFollette city limits. ⓘ source
Sidelines Bar & Grill ↗Not in Jacksboro — 2239 Jacksboro Pike, LaFollette · (423) 437-8658. Check hours before you go. ⓘ source
Legend’s Hometown Grill ↗Not in Jacksboro — 802 S. Cumberland Ave., LaFollette · 423-352-6171. Check hours before you go. ⓘ source
Seven Loaves Kitchen ↗Not in Jacksboro — downtown LaFollette · 423-201-9007. Check hours before you go. ⓘ source

Small-town hours change, so call ahead. Full list: Visit Campbell County — Eat ↗.

Places to stay

Lonas Young RV Park Campground ↗Not in Jacksboro — 694 W. High Knob Rd., near LaFollette · 20 full-hookup RV sites (water, electric and sewer) in the county park on Norris Lake; book through the county’s online system · 423-563-9800. ⓘ source
Powell Valley Resort ↗Not in Jacksboro — on Norris Lake · a renovated hotel with 11 lake-view rooms, each with two queen beds and a private patio, a short walk from the resort’s restaurant and ship store. ⓘ source
Cove Lake State Park campground ↗Not in Jacksboro — Caryville · the park’s renovated campground is set to open in 2027. ⓘ source

More lodging: Visit Campbell County — Stay ↗.

Nearby: Cove Lake, the Cumberland Trail, elk country & Norris Lake

Cove Lake State Park ↗Not in Jacksboro — 110 Cove Lake Ln., Caryville · more than 630 acres around the 200-acre Cove Lake, for kayaking, canoeing and fishing, with a 3-mile paved walking loop. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed the park in the New Deal years. Its renovated campground is set to open in 2027 · 423-566-9701. ⓘ source
Cumberland Trail State Park ↗Not in Jacksboro — park headquarters at 220 Park Rd., Caryville · 423-566-2229. Near Caryville, the Devil’s Racetrack trail is a 5.7-mile out-and-back hike to a waterfall, rated difficult; near LaFollette, Chimney Rocks from the Sarvis Trailhead is a 6.5-mile out-and-back. ⓘ source
Lonas Young Memorial Park ↗Not in Jacksboro — Campbell County’s park on Norris Lake, outside any town’s limits near LaFollette · open daily from daylight to dusk, with a paved walking trail, tennis and pickleball courts, a swimming beach, pavilions and fishing · 423-563-9800. ⓘ source
Hatfield Knob Elk Viewing Tower ↗Not in Jacksboro — in the Sundquist unit of the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, north of LaFollette off US-25W · about a 15-minute walk to an overlook of an elk feeding field. Early mornings and near dark are the best times to see elk, which returned to the North Cumberland in 2000. ⓘ source
Norris Lake ↗Not in Jacksboro — the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Norris Lake, with 750 miles of shoreline across several counties, draws boaters, anglers and retirees to Campbell County (Tennessee Encyclopedia). ⓘ source
Campbell County Historical Society Museum ↗Not in Jacksboro — in LaFollette · learn the county’s coal-mining heritage. LaFollette sits near Big Creek Gap, a natural opening through the Cumberland Mountains that changed hands several times in the Civil War. Check hours before you go. ⓘ source
Indian Mountain State Park ↗Not in Jacksboro — 143 State Park Cir., Jellico, near the Kentucky line · a lake, trails and camping on reclaimed strip-mine land · 423-566-5870. ⓘ source
Windrock Park ↗Not in Jacksboro — 921 Windrock Rd., Oliver Springs · off-road, mountain-bike and trail-ride country on about 73,000 acres, with a campground and general store. Every rider needs a permit. ⓘ source

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · in or out of town checked against Census town limits. Call ahead — hours change. All hours Eastern (ET).

Coming up in and around Jacksboro

Thu Oct 29 — Last day of early voting9 AM–4 PM ET at the Campbell County Election Commission, 129 Church Alley, Jacksboro, or 9 AM–2 PM ET at Jellico City Hall, 410 S. Main St. · (423) 562-9777. ⓘ source
Fri Oct 30 — Night hike at Cove LakeNot in Jacksboro — Cove Lake State Park, Caryville · 6:45 PM ET · a ranger-led hike by headlamp on the park’s 1-mile paved woods loop. Bring your own headlamp; children under 16 need a parent along. ⓘ source
Sat Oct 31 — Trick-or-treat across Campbell County5–9 PM ET countywide, per WLAF. ⓘ source
Mon Nov 2 — Board of Education special called meeting5 PM ET in the upper courtroom of the Campbell County Courthouse, 570 Main St., Jacksboro; the board’s workshop follows. ⓘ source
Tue Nov 3 — Election DayThe state and federal general election. Jacksboro has no town races on this ballot (MTAS lists the town’s next election as April 3, 2027); Caryville, Jellico and LaFollette elect city officials. Jacksboro-area polling places include Jacksboro Middle School, 150 Eagle Circle. Find your polling place and hours with the Election Commission · (423) 562-9777. ⓘ source
Mon Nov 9 — County Commission workshop6 PM ET. The public may address the commission at workshops only; ask to be added to the agenda before noon ET that day. ⓘ source
Fri Nov 13 — Free Thanksgiving meal give-awayNot in Jacksboro — 11 AM ET at The Grand in downtown LaFollette · free, fully cooked Thanksgiving dinners from a local church ministry, while they last. ⓘ source
Mon Nov 16 — County Commission meeting6 PM ET. Check the county site for the agenda. ⓘ source
Fri Nov 27 — Day After Thanksgiving HikeNot in Jacksboro — Cumberland Trail parking lot on Bruce Gap (Cove Lake State Park) · 4:30–6:30 PM ET · a free guided hike on the 1.5-mile Volunteer Loop, which climbs to the top of the ridge. Pre-registration is required; bring water and wear closed-toe shoes. ⓘ source

More happenings are on WLAF ↗, the Campbell County site ↗ and Cove Lake State Park ↗. We’ll refresh this list after the Nov 27 hike.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · times Eastern (ET) · dates from the Campbell County Election Commission, Campbell County government, Tennessee State Parks and WLAF. More Campbell County events are on the county guide.

Area news

Headlines · Jacksboro & Campbell County

WLAF · Oct 28, 2026
More than 3,200 early ballots were cast in Campbell County through Tuesday; early voting ends Oct. 29, and Caryville, Jellico and LaFollette fill 13 city seats on Nov. 3.
Read at WLAF →
WVLT 8 · Oct 28, 2026
TVA sealed a time capsule at Norris Dam to mark America’s 250th birthday; it is set to be opened in 2076.
Read at WVLT 8 →
WLAF · Oct 27, 2026
Jacksboro’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a one-ton plow truck, data-breach insurance and Christmas bonuses for town employees.
Read at WLAF →
WLAF · Oct 26, 2026
The Campbell County High Marching Cougars closed their season with a Superior rating and first-place band in Class 2A at the Alcoa competition.
Read at WLAF →

Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the source. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]

A short history

Settlers farmed the flat land below Eagle Bluff before Tennessee became a state. In 1793 the surveyor and land speculator Stockley Donelson secured title from North Carolina to much of the land around today’s Jacksboro and Caryville, and in 1796 he sold a 2,000-acre tract on Coal Creek to his brother-in-law, Andrew Jackson. The tract was called Walnut Cove for its black walnut trees (TNGenWeb).

Tennessee’s General Assembly created Campbell County on Sept. 11, 1806, from parts of Anderson and Claiborne counties and named it for Col. Arthur Campbell, a Revolutionary War soldier. Most early settlers lived in the fertile Powell’s Valley (Tennessee Encyclopedia). The act creating the county directed that its seat “shall be known by the name of Jacksborough” (CTAS). The post office kept the name Walnut Cove from 1806 until May 31, 1819, when it became Jacksonboro. It was renamed Jacksborough on May 27, 1829, to match the 1806 act, and shortened to Jacksboro on Aug. 8, 1887 (TNGenWeb). Source conflict: the Tennessee Encyclopedia says Jacksboro “was founded in 1807”; the 1806 act creating Campbell County already named the county seat Jacksborough (CTAS); the Walnut Cove post office opened Oct. 15, 1806 (TNGenWeb); and MTAS lists the town’s incorporation as Jan. 1, 1967, under the general law mayor-aldermanic charter. TNGenWeb also reports a later story that the name honors a Revolutionary War officer named James W. Jack, and says there is no evidence for it. We print all of them.

Campbell County has had four courthouses. The first, of limestone, was built in 1808 in the center of Walnut Cove. A log-and-frame courthouse followed in 1855 and burned in 1883, destroying many county records, though the Register of Deeds’ office was spared. A brick courthouse went up in 1885. After two fires, the county built today’s courthouse in 1926 of brick, steel, stone and concrete on the same foundation (TNGenWeb).

Railroads brought coal mining and lumbering, and the New Deal reshaped the county: the Civilian Conservation Corps developed Cove Lake State Park, and TVA’s Norris Lake became the county’s biggest change. Interstate 75 later brought tourism and new industry (Tennessee Encyclopedia). Four-star Gen. Carl W. Stiner, who commanded U.S. forces in Operation Just Cause in Panama, was born on a Powell Valley farm. Source conflict: the 2020 Census counted 2,306 people in Jacksboro; the state’s certified 2026 estimate is 2,235 (MTAS), and the 2010 Census counted 2,020. The Tennessee Encyclopedia, written from the 2000 Census, says Jacksboro had fewer than 2,000 people.

Today Jacksboro is a town with a general law mayor-aldermanic charter, a fire department, a police department, a town court and a public library. Town offices are in the Municipal Building, 585 Main St., open Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–4 PM ET (MTAS). Source conflict: MTAS lists the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s regular meeting as the first Thursday at 7 PM ET at the Municipal Building, but WLAF reported the board met on Monday afternoon, Oct. 26. Call the Municipal Building at (423) 562-9312 to confirm the next meeting.

Campbell County’s history → · East Tennessee history hub →

Town offices & local resources

Emergency (police · fire · EMS)911Call 911 for any emergency.
Town of Jacksboro · Municipal Building & Police(423) 562-9312585 Main St. · Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–4 PM ET. ⓘ source
Jacksboro Fire Department (non-emergency)(423) 562-9842For fires and emergencies call 911. ⓘ source
Jacksboro Public Library(423) 562-3675The town’s library; call for hours. ⓘ source
Campbell County 911 non-emergency dispatch423-562-8095County-wide dispatch. ⓘ source
Campbell County Sheriff’s Office423-562-7446610 Main St. ⓘ source
Campbell County government423-562-2526Courthouse, 570 Main St. · Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET, Sat 8–11:30 AM ET. ⓘ source
Campbell County Election Commission(423) 562-9777129 Church Alley · Mon–Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM ET · Election Day Tue Nov 3. ⓘ source
Campbell County Schools423-562-8377172 Valley St. ⓘ source
Campbell County Health Department(423) 562-8351162 Sharp-Perkins Rd. · 8 AM–4:30 PM ET. ⓘ source
Campbell County Emergency Management423-562-1333Office in LaFollette · disasters and storm information. ⓘ source
Campbell County EMS (office)423-562-6151Office in LaFollette · for emergencies call 911. ⓘ source
Tennova LaFollette Medical Center(423) 907-1200LaFollette · emergency room. ⓘ source
Campbell County Office of Veterans Affairs423-562-3531Office in LaFollette. ⓘ source
Campbell County Chamber of Commerce423-566-03291016 Main St. ⓘ source
Highway emergency (cell)*THP (*847)Tennessee Highway Patrol. ⓘ source

Town of Jacksboro — MTAS directory ↗ — charter, meeting schedule and office hours (the town has no working website of its own). Jacksboro has a mayor and aldermen under a general law charter, and its town offices and police are in the Municipal Building, 585 Main St. Campbell County offices are in and around the Courthouse, 570 Main St. The County Commission holds its workshop on the second Monday and its meeting on the third Monday of each month, both at 6 PM ET.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · official sites only · numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. Times Eastern (ET). Emergencies: call 911.

Around Campbell County

← Campbell County guide — Cove Lake, Norris Lake, the Cumberland Trail, elk viewing and county resources.

Other Campbell County places: LaFollette · Caryville · Jellico · Rocky Top (also Anderson) · Fincastle · Pioneer · Elk Valley · Newcomb · Speedwell (also Claiborne). Census places: Jacksboro town (2,306) · La Follette city (7,430) · Caryville town (2,212) · Jellico city (2,154). Next door: Anderson · Claiborne · Scott · Union county guides.

Other county-seat guides: Wartburg (Morgan County) · Kingston (Roane County) · Huntsville (Scott County) · Jamestown (Fentress County) · Crossville (Cumberland County) · Clinton (Anderson County) · Dayton (Rhea County) · Decatur (Meigs County) · Athens (McMinn County) · Cleveland (Bradley County) · Madisonville (Monroe County) · Loudon (Loudon County) · Maryville (Blount County) · Sevierville (Sevier County) · Knoxville (Knox County) · Newport (Cocke County) · Tazewell (Claiborne County) · Benton (Polk County) · Greeneville (Greene County) · Morristown (Hamblen County) · Rogersville (Hawkins County). Nearest seats: Clinton (Anderson), Huntsville (Scott) and Tazewell (Claiborne).

Sources

Checked Oct 29, 2026